Rehearsal Spaces Fellowship

Open Call for Artists 

We are inviting applications from grassroots artists interested in a socially-engaged practice to participate in a paid work opportunity of up to 13 days across six-weeks in summer/autumn 2026. There are two opportunities to apply for, see below. 

The Opportunities

A House for Artists (AHFA)

• Six week placement: 10th August - 20th September
• Up to 13 days
• Location: Barking

Artist fee: up to £3,633 + materials budget

download the full artist brief below...

Tottenham Family Fight Back (TFFB)

• Six week placement: 20th July - 28th August 
• Up to of 13 days
• Location: Tottenham
• Artist fee: up to £3,633 + materials budget

download the full artist brief below...

About Rehearsal Spaces Fellowship

Rehearsal Spaces Fellowship is a programme by Kin Structures, funding two artist fellowship placements in summer/autumn 2026. This programme will provide infrastructure for grassroots artists to develop socially-engaged practices within the context of place-based, spatial justice campaigns in London.

Each fellowship is a paid opportunity for artists to create tools in service of campaign aims and seeks to give space to the production of work that responds to social, political and ecological conditions within the urban environment. 

Through rooted and trans-local artist–community collaborations, Rehearsal Spaces creatively and strategically supports the (re)imagination of the spatial justice movement across London.

How to Apply

Fill out this application form here before the deadline: Midnight, Wednesday 24th June 2026

Please indicate a preference for the artist fellowship placement you’re interested in or select “I would like to be considered for either placement”.

If you would like to complete an application in an alternative format e.g., audio or video recording, please email programmes@kinstructures.com 

Background

We, Kin Structures C.I.C., are artists of Global Majority background, living and working in London, one of the most diverse cities in the world, shaped by migration, workers and through a rich history of protest. London is also ranked as one of the top art capitals in which artistic, aesthetic and creative production is abundant. 

Art is commonly seen as something that has social value by virtue of its ability to generate an aesthetic sensorium. When art enters the public space, it establishes a social relation–with people and spaces. The social value of art becomes a resource which can be used for good but also as part of processes and systems that should be critiqued. Local governments, private developers, business owners and cultural infrastructures enter relationships with art in the public space such that when a neighbourhood is attractive and “artsy” capital will follow. This relationship also works in the inverse where corporate sponsored public art will enter neighbourhoods that are undergoing “urban redevelopment” to “complement” the gentrification process–a process that results in the displacement of local working class people. This displacement has a disproportionate and confounding impact on our most marginalised and vulnerable communities and raises questions about the role of art in who is able to live, remain, and meaningfully belong in the city (see some recent stats on gentrification by Trust for London). 

The presence of artists in a community contributes to a perceived cultural capital that can be exploited by state-led regeneration and developers, both of which drive gentrification. As creative neighbourhoods undergo these changes, artists often find themselves displaced from the very areas where their work initially added social value.

As artists concerned with spatial justice we must ask ourselves how our art enters the social world and in turn, how we can resist gentrification and the oppressive systems around it? 

We are interested in grassroots artistic and creative practices that emerge from and respond to their  conditions, understanding that no art is neutral but instead intertwined in the social, political and spatial structuring of the city. As such, we recognise the limitations of formal art institutions stemming from the historic and ongoing ways in which they may replicate and uphold systems of power as well as regulate the spatial confines of artistic practices that are often incompatible with a community-led vision for the arts. This fellowship is therefore especially aimed at supporting grassroots artists who often work outside of, independently from, and in critique of these circumstances.  

Methodology 

Rooting:

• Our organisational approach to partnerships uses a practice of “rooting” which is a way of working that begins with witnessing and being with what is, before sensitively responding to context. We see our work as relational and durational, requiring initial and ongoing relationship building. We will take this approach with the place-based campaigns we partner with. 

Trans-locality: 

• Whilst we root ourselves and our work in local places, what is “local” requires rethinking in a globalised world. A geographic locale is shaped by multiple and changing histories, economies, ecologies, and infrastructures that mean it is interconnected to and interdependent on the global and all scales in between. A “trans-local” method of working in the context of Rehearsal Spaces recognises that neighbourhoods across London all experience different but connected urban realities. By facilitating collaboration, reciprocal knowledge and coalition-building practices across borough scales, we explore how socially engaged artistic practices can situate local issues in wider struggles for urban spatial justice. 

FAQs

Who is organising this fellowship?

Kin Structures is a Community Interest Company, building and sustaining infrastructure for community and cultural expression.  Our work is not for profit and is currently funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. This funding is limited, however, and we are currently seeking additional funding to maintain and expand our work in the future.

In the absence of this, members of our community support our work through a paid membership model for our newsletter (£1 per month).

Who can apply?

Applications are welcome from anyone who considers themselves an artist.

We recognise the limitations of formal art institutions stemming from the historic and ongoing ways in which they may replicate and uphold systems of power as well as regulate the spatial confines of artistic practices that are often incompatible with a community-led vision for the arts. This fellowship is therefore especially aimed at supporting grassroots artists who often work outside of, independently from, and in critique of these circumstances.  

Each Fellowship placement has further eligibility and person specifications found HERE for A House for Artists and HERE and Tottenham Family Fight Back. 

How to apply

Fill out this application form HERE before the deadline: Midnight, Wednesday 24th June 2026

Fellowship fees & compensation

There are no application fees. Kin Structures CIC is a non-profit and if you wish to support and engage with our work please sign up to our newsletter for £1 per month.

Artists will be paid a fee of up to £3,633* for up to 13 days work across 6 weeks.

Artists will receive a materials budget of £500

In the case of a public event(s), there will be an event budget of £500 for the artist and campaign group

*Based on Artist Union England guidance social practice day rates

Place-based campaigns will receive the opportunity to work with a funded artist to develop creative tools in service of their campaign aims (visibility, engagement, documentation). Kin Structures’ Programmes Lead will act as support across the fellowship to both the artist and the campaign group.   

Accessibility

When filling out the form you can disclose any accessibility information you’d like to share at this stage. 

If you would like to complete an application in an alternative format e.g., audio or video recording, please email programmes@kinstructures.com

Selected artists will undergo onboarding with their place-based campaign including completing an access and collaboration rider to make sure access needs can be factored into the work and make accommodations where possible. The Kin Structures’ Programmes Lead will be available to support across the placement. 

What happens if an application is unsuccessful?

We will contact all applicants with the outcome of their application in early July. Unsuccessful applicants may be asked if they would like to be considered for future programmes.

Contact 

For further information and enquiries related to Rehearsal Spaces Fellowship, please contact programmes@kinstructures.com